Pulley



` 3 SheetaMSheab 1.

(un loam.) f J. WHUSBORNB. PULLEY, RULLEB., 0R WHEEL. No. 287.563, Panama 0mg, so, 1883.

(No Modem 4 3 Sheets-Bharat 2' 4 J. W. GSBORNB@ PULLBY, ROLLER, 0R WHEEL. No; 287.568. Patented Oct. 3Q', 1883.'

Wfl-Weges.'

,a Sheets-Sheet 3. J. W. ESBORNB. PULLEY, ROLLER, onwHBBL',

(no Model.)

No. 287,568. Patented 0013.` 30, 1883. I

Tim/2135.555

als

5o eleyetiou UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

'ro WILLIAM nl mums,

0F HCHLON, MASSAOHUSETTS.

Putter, Rotten, on woest,

srnelrrcATIoN forming part of mmm Potent rre/287,568, dared ,october so, isos.

poumons and odori; a. 1am, ou mam Toall whom, w may" concern:

Be it known that l, J OHN W. OSBORNE, of llushington. District of Columbia., have in, vented :i no i und useful Improlvement inthe Constr-uci fon of Pulleys, Rollers, and Frictionilhctlsl oi' which the following is u speciiiention.

This invention is related, generally, to the devices employed for receiving or communiouting motion by means of belts und bearingsurfaoes genere-ily, und specifically to the class of eontrivonees known as cxponsible pul- Yleys and wheels. As u'ow eonstrmzzted,A for the most part, the diuinetefof such pulleys, rollers, 8mo., is made changeable within certain limits by moving segments of the periphery farther from or nearer to the shaft or axle on which the lulley'or wheel is fastened, or byadjustng conical surfaces on the same, so as to modify the position and. radius of the driv ing portion; but when Suchmethode are adopted it becomes c. problem presenting mouyvzdifiieultics to keep the expended or contracted periphery oi' the pulley or4 roller continuous, and at the suine time truly circular. ln my vinvention I inclose one or more rings, of elastic numeriek-such as rubber-between lint metal rings or plates of the seme or greater, diameter, und by appronehing said plates with to increase, itssizerodiully from ,the axis of the pulley or .,Wlieel, tlierebyinereasing'the diameter of thepart over which e, belt runs, orwhich has frictiouul contact with some othersurfaec. l "Some 'of p riuoipleiis putin practice ere shown in the eoolupainyiug drawings, in whieh- Figure 1 A juy '1u' Verosssectim vunenfpendedgFig'. -2' fascine infront elevation" a ftei"e ii%simsioi.

theioeg ing. Fig. 4 is the cross-sectionfof a. pulleyofsiuiiiarbut modified construction eireiidedtgfifigqgis aseotionof the'sa'me o n liuefl loi' Fiii. B is sido elevation ofthe sinne,- oving t c method of adjusting 'infin g; 7 is a cross-section of a f or rixn consists oi at stratification of' d nou-elastic material., Fig. 8 is an ef the saine. Fig. 0 shows in crosstangible rim.

section of the seme.

the requisite force I cause the elastic substance wliichtlieface is convex.' Fig. 10 is thesn'ine as tire foregoifug, but with concave fece. Fig. 11 showsi-n dross-section e. bevelpiuion with stratified expensible face. Fig. 12 is o front elevation of the some. Fig. 13 shows in plan 'an expansible bevel-pinion in Contact with a.

Wheel. Fig. 14 showsin crossfscetion chevelwheel of modified construction. Fig. 15 is n front elevation ofthe sinne. Fig. 16 shows in cross-,section un expensible ruiter-'wheel f modiiied construction. Fig. 17 is a. front elevction of the saine. Fig. 1S shows in crossseetion ou nmiulurwheei with stratified' exf Fig'. 19 is a. front elevation of 65 the same. Fig. 20 is au elevation of a portion of e. dividing-plater-Tig. 21 is d radici cross-l InFigsrl, 2, and 3 the flange a forms one side of an expansible pulley, the iiange or disk b formsthe other side, and both flanges are ffststhe'oue to. the hub upon a. shait or spindle and thc other to o.- sleeve sliding ou the hub. When the Ilenges ore separated the whole length of the sleevc,.the space between them is filled by a rin r of vulcanized rubber c. This 'ring tits close y upon the sleeve, an( Ahas parallelA sides. Its outer surface is ground bff flush with the edges of the disks, and on this surface the belt runswheu the pulley is in use. Thehub has ethreodeut uponit, and

-the ways in which` this.

Eig. 3 is a sideelevation of oirwiieel in which the expohsible pcf' carries the nut d, by which the sides of the pulley con be forced together, in doing which the sleeve enters ithe recessed grooye e, the depth of which determiuesthe extent to which the compression can be carried. When urn3s nrc is applied bythe mit, the elastic materiel 'between the flanges yields in the only way possible, whichis radially from the center in eyfcry direction townrdthe unsupportedcircunifer mi ence,- end the diameter ofthe central workf ing 4ortion of the face' is thereby increased. It will be seen that the construction isgsuch that in effecting this compression all the sides .of the rubber, except rits ihce, are solidly supported et all timos; and. iu consequence the change which takes place in its form is coufmed toene direction only. Nor con the rub.- ber be'` forced into cavities which, es the erpa'nsion is .eontiuuodlngre tieity of the rub er res ores it to iis original liable to close upon xoo -tuin cases-namely,

condition, :so ,that A any desrcddiametel (bew offtherubber, for, as thesdes of `thefriulleyqr oer vcryconsidemble friction, tlle particlesV of the elastic substance arehindercd from mov' i ing along theml and ns their freedom to dose 1o is greatest at the middle, the outward expansion is greatest there, and diminishes'toward' r thesides, giving rise to a curve which iswell ,adapted for carrying a. elt and for driving' other surfaces by friction, or being driven l whenever n convex fece is suitable, the elastic mass being thoroughly supported at all lines by the sideflangesnnd cylindrical sleeve elowit. l

Figs. 4, 5, and 6 represent a.-.pul1eysimller l vented from turning byu small short pi'n upon its inner edgeinoving in a shallow groove in thebody. (Indicatedbydottedlinesntl.)The outside edge of the nut 1c is n toothed wheel, into whiclrmeshes the little-pinion m on Ithe l flange i. Turning this pinion by .means of u suitable key will cause the nut il: to revolve und etlectthe further compression of the rubb'cr g, ora return in greater or less degree to its original at form, aecordingfto the direction in which the pinion has been turned. It will be seen that in this ense the flan ges extend beyond the rubber fece, giving it e form which is couve'nientfor oinepurposes. A pulley ol' thskind js-wcll opted for carrying belting of every description, and especially metallic belting, because ofthe holdwhich the rubber trikes 'upon such snrfnces,--giving risc to much friction, or resistance t slip, without adhesion. Furthermore, the thorough manner in which the rubber issupported insures the meintennnce of its diameter when covered by the belt, as well as 'the positive'niovement of therletter, the elastie'periphery being solid and nnyieldf ing beneath it. Very nice adjustments of yspeed lcan therefore be mn/de and when such are unimportant the expanslble character of .the pulley furnishes the bestmeans possible g 'for tightening metallic belting.

(lev In' carrying out my invention I use in con when the pulley is not too smell or the vmotion too rnpidf-other fsnb-r stences analogous to vulcanized ru bbera.nd resembling it in possessingu. great range of B"elastio ity-ns, for instance, the wellknown mixture ofglue nud molasses, or glue and glyc-I erl1 1e, with the addition of u very small quan'- in ll essentiel respects tothat just described, -but dicring from it in some details `of conolf 'parallel to the exis.

'tity of Water, both of 'which compounds are used ,in thefnrts for theigpinui'ecture of print- -ers'rollers, -nndiorother purposes. f Elastic 7C material of this s'ortis 'much cheaper `than rubber, but it is also less durable.

When pulleys of large diameter are made expnustble by my method, tw'ill be generell y 'found iueonvenientto apply the lateral press- 75v ure necesstryby means of a, single concentric lnut, for ythe reason, among others, that the Ipressure required'wlll be great. This didi eulty is overcome bylusing a number of bolts with nuts uponftheniin the manner shown in 'Figsz 7 and 8. Tn this case the body of the pulley: orwheel has ne fast ilange, n, and :L movable one o, which) talresthe form. of eflat ring. The latter'slidcs upon the shoulder p, and both ere heldtogethenand the .lateral pressure upon 'the elnstlc,motcrial between rthem is determined and controlled by means 0f the boltsq q, Idre. These bolts, having screws of the seme pitch, should be ,screwed up to precisely the same extent, and to facilitate this the nuts have each alittle pointer, which traverses over a small circle marked with numbered divisions.

I Figs. 7 and 8 furthermore illustrate u-yeryi' important modlicatiou of my invention, by

which the general face of en expnnsible pulley or wheel is maintained parallel to that given it before expansion, tting it especially `for use as frictiongearing. In Fig. 7 the metal lic riugrbetween the flanges n und o is turned rpo 0n the cylinder so vformed a. number vof independent vulcanized rubb'c rings, s s, die., are fitted, extending outward tothe edge of the ilanges, and be' tween each ring of rubber annuler plntest t, of m5 -thin metshare placed, the circulnropenings in which t easily upon the metallic rim r. When the flange o istghtened upon the rubber and motel rings, so ne to bring all into contact, the whole foce of the pulley isl ground 1 ro o ilet down to the metal. If pressure be now applied to the rim formed of the elastic strati rlied materiel between the flanges, by screwing up the nuts qq,&c.,e1uelly all round,thcdieme ter of the pulley wil1'beinereused, n.ud as each 1 r 5 separate ring of rubber is of the seme thick` ,ness and receives 4exsrctly the sume amount of pressure, enel] will increase, rudi ally outward to thesanie extent, and this resnlt will be a generally'ilnt surface. Strictly speaking, each piece -sz 2c of' rubber will have an independent convexi-ty of its own; but as in such wheels n'very smell enlargement only is required, and ns the sul foce the wheel worksgeinst tends toiletten the slight convexities produced, the face of the i2 5 pulley will be dat for all practical purposes. A wheel so constructed, in contact with an ,other like it, or with one having a. dat m etallic face, is Well adapted to take in mnny cases the place of ordinary spur-gearing.y For this pur- 1 30 ose the fece of the wheel may be mede very road where much power is transmitted; bui itis then'well to notch the thin metal plates t t, &c., ut one or more places 'on their inner cases, especially where' the face maires au angle of less than forty-tive degrees with the axis, the-simpler arrangement is quite satisfactory, This method of constructing friction/ gearing has many advantages. In erecting such the face of the opposing wheel 'is brought incontact or very nearly in contact with the edges of the anges' on the wheel which holds the stratified rubber, and when the journals nre fast the friction between the 'two is increased by expansion. untilit is enough for the transmission of the power required. The amount necessary to accomplish this is very small due to the construction employed, as the edges of the rubber fece on both sides be- `gin to bear as fsoon as the center portion. Any wear which takes place iu time on the dat surface and any subsequent increase in the power to transmitted are providedfor by sim` ply screwing up the compression-nuts. .As be fore stated, soft und pure rubber can beusedbe@ causo of the very perfect support-given to it thloixghoilt,wliereby it acts as if, much stiffer, firmer, and harder than it really is. This depends upon the fact that in itself rubber is not domprcssible and to yield must escupe in some direction. described, its opportunities for escape are small, While in doing so' the line of`coutact is slightly broadened across the face. It is for this reason, also, that apullcy so constructed is especially fitted for carrying an uuyieldiug metallic belt; but in that case the requisite convcxity is given to the stratified rubber :fronr the start, which curve is afterward lmantaiued, whether-it be expanded to adjust the speed with accuracy or to tighten the belt, which latter operation is better done in that Way for such belts than in any other.

'lhc expansion principle, as 1' have applied it to frictioirgearing and described it herein, not only obviates all adjustment from time to time ci' the bearings ou which the Wheels rotate, but it also acts very benelicially in holding the rubber upon the rim of the wheel, for when pressure isv applied laterally the rubber behaves much as it'it were aliquid. It presses in every direction and grasps in consequence thc body of the wheel under it, the flanges at the sides, and the dividing-@lates with much force, whereby auymovement or' slip is prerented. For bevel ,-gearing it isv especially useful, overcoming the difficulties which" tabel accurate construct-ion and cutting of toothed gearing of this kind give risc to-aud tbe expense attending the sam'e,

As a substitute for annular gearing illustrated in Figs. 1S and 19, the principle of eitpansiou is also applicable. The grip ou the pinion in this case is very strong, `and its size is not subject to the limitations app'ertainin'g*vr to toothed gearing of this kind. i I -y In the several applications of' rubber und analogous bodies for the construction of pulleys, rollers, and friction-wheels described in this specification, the support which. the rub! Used in the manner I have ber receives from the flanges or plates which grasp it is of the utmost importance. This support is notgiv'en if the elastic substance extends beyou the same, unless such extension be the legitimate result of lateral press uro only. when it f0rms "tho characteristic curve springing from the'sdc supports, and presenting a solid tense surface. Itis impor tant, therefore, that the flan es and plates should hold the rubber withougallowing it to slip along, their surfaces. In most euses the friction is' so great between the rubber and the metal plates which 4hold it that there is no danger of the former 'slipping o n them even before the pressure becomes' considerable, after which it is always held firmly; but `with certain inferior kinds of rubber it is desirable to prevent the possibility of any movement which may result in the elevation of unsupported material at the sides, and this is easily effected -by undercutting' the llanges and ih a variety of other ways. I prefer, however, to

cut-e. number of concentric depressions ontlie surfaces where a slip may take place, luto which the mass is forced, when thc pressure first affects it, and which elfectually prevent its movement over them,

In Fig. 20 an elevation ou a large scale is' shown oi'a'portion of an' annular plate `used in the stratifying of rubber or analogous bod ies forming the elastic bearing-rim on a pulley or'wheel, and in Fig. 21the same is shown in radial crosssection. In both figures the depressions referred to are represented at n", n, dac.

I am aware that rubber has been used for `i`rictiou-rollers, and that rubber wheels have been held and compressed by side plates, so as to swell the over-hanging und projecting part; but in the devices ol which I have any knowledge that part of the mass which is held and supported, and which, iu consequence,

has resistance and driving capacity, carries upon itasoft, yielding, unsupported mass, held only by adhesion to that which is beneath it,l and capable of` maintaining its position by virtue of its tensile strength alone. lVhen a wheel so constructed is pressed into contact with n. surface of any kiud,.the superfluous rubber evades the same, it escapes and entends laterally, anda wave rises in the-tlexible material, which is forced to travel the whole cir cumference at the speed of rotationrinvolviug a vast amount of i useless work and the` rapid v disintegration` of the rubber. Iii- 'my' ihrem' tion, by adapting the thickness of the indi,- vidual pieces' of elastic material and thcirinuiuber `t0 the pressure` applied and the work demanded of them, the support they receive is always eicient, and will be found to solidify and sustain the surface in a marked and deaided manner.

power and weer. y

-I am aware that expansiblc pulleys have been constructed by inserting rubber rings 'and rubber disksbetwe'en compression-plates,

In a Whe/el so constructed every port of the face accomplishes the iiixi mum: result with. the leastpossiblewaste of :sigues s so :lis to be expanded by the application oflateral pressure, andto such combination I lay no claim. My invention contemplates the employment, with side plates or heads, of ams terial-suchns metal or hard rubber-which combines in itself the qualities of flexibility, hardness, and incompressibility, in conscquenee of which I am enabled to give my pul-v ley n definite and nniformenlerglement in all directions, and to secure und lnalntsin an eccurse-y of form not attainable by the employment of soft rubber in any manner hitherto practiced.

Having thus fully described my invention and the manner in which the sanne is carried out, what 'I claim, and wish to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. An expsnsible pulley having its circumference composed ot a series of springs of metal or equivalent rigid elastic material, said springs extending transversely to the place of rotation, substantially as described and shown.

2. A pulley or roller consisting of-two parallel ilsngcs a number of bent springs extending from one il', nge to the other in aplone coincidingwith the axis of the pulley, and means for increasing and decreasing the convexityof said springs, substantially es set forth.

3. In an expansible pulley, the combine tion, as described, of a divided expansible shell of hard elastic material with :t continuons ring of vulcanized rubber encircling said shell.

4. In an expansible pulley, an elastic shell forming the circumference of the pulley and divided in the direction of the axis, in combination with s spiral spring, applied, substantially as described, to supplement the elasticity of said shell.

5. In an expansible pulley, an elastic `eircumferentisl shell divided in the direction of the axis, and having conical sides b b, com# bined with compressing side flanges corres )ondingly undercut, and provided with shells fl' fitted to the openings in the shell, as described and shown. JOHN W. OSBORNE. Witnesses:

GEO. F. GRAHAM, L. C. YOUNG. 

